The Assessment of Sadistic Personality: Preliminary psychometric evidence for a new measure

Recent research suggests that subclinical sadism should be included in the Dark Triad. However, research on the assessment of sadism as a trait is lacking. To address this, we developed a new self-report measure, the Assessment of Sadistic Personality (ASP). In Study 1, 199 university students completed a preliminary 20-item version of the ASP, measures of the Dark Triad, agreeableness, honesty-humility, emotional intelligence, and sadistic tendencies. Internal consistency was acceptable and convergent validity was supported. After reducing the ASP to nine items, 202 university students completed a replication of Study 1. Internal consistency and convergent validity were again supported. When ASP items were combined with Dark Triad items, exploratory factor analysis supported the anticipated four-factor structure. These results provide preliminary evidence for the reliability and validity of the ASP as a new measure of subclinical sadism appropriate for use in conjunction with existing measures of the Dark Triad.